


On My Latest Trip

by theChromiumFail



Category: Watch Dogs (Video Games)
Genre: Horatio is underrated, I can't believe I'm being that writer, I'm Sorry, the ship is kinda implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 11:45:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13189401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theChromiumFail/pseuds/theChromiumFail
Summary: Marcus tries to get Horatio to take a break.





	On My Latest Trip

**Author's Note:**

> When I started this, everything fell in line perfectly. It takes place between the Swelter Skelter and Limp Nudle missions of the game. However, upon looking back at the mission cut scenes I realized that the end of this fic kinda conflicts with the beginning of Limp Nudle. Oh well. Make it work.
> 
> Thanks to [WoffWoff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoffWoff) for helping me out with this!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this, and if you feel the need to read this with Horatio/Marcus in mind, please do ;)

* * *

 

 

Marcus walks into Gary’s Games and Glory just as they’re beginning to close up shop. He gives the guys at the register a nod before making his has to the back storage room, punching the code in to get into the hackerspace. He has to pause and brace himself when he approaches the top of the stairs. They seem to go on much farther than he remembers, stretching and retracting for a minute before he blinks them into focus. It only partially helps his case, with the way the graffiti on the walls seems to slowly travel across the walls.

He makes it to the bottom eventually, where the sound of typing gets his attention. He hadn’t expected anyone else to be here, not tonight. The sound echoes and take over the space, the hum of the computers and monitors a constant hum that seems to vibrate through him.

For a second he feels a wave of suspicion wash over him before he rounds the pillar blocking his view and sees a familiar figure sitting at the workstation.

“Heeey, Horatio,” he says when he gets closer. The other man is clearly not as surprised to see Marcus as Marcus is to see him, meeting him halfway in a fistbump.

“Hey man,” he throws over his shoulder, but he doesn’t stop typing.

“What're you doing here this late anyway?” Marcus checks the clock on a nearby open laptop, which reads 10:57, on his way to falling over the nearest couch. It’s not that late really, not for them, but he knows Horatio had work today too. “You know, you really should get some sleep every once in a while, I hear it’s good for you.”

Marcus is happy to hear him chuckle at the joke. The man needs to laugh every once in a while. He looks up when the typing stops and turns his head to find Horatio facing him.

“And you are…?” he asked, gesturing his hand to indicate Marcus also being there.

“About to go to sleep, clearly. Never say that I don’t take my own advice, thank you very much.” He stretches out as much as he can on the couch, pulling down his hat to shield his eyes from the brightness of the hackerspace.

“So you do live here? Good to know, I owe Sitara fifty bucks now.”

They laugh for a good minute before falling into companionable silence. Marcus falls in and out of a sleepy haze, just on the edge of wakeness though not quite unconscious. He’s content to just sit and wait for sleep, until the hunger begins gnawing at his stomach. He should have picked something up on his way to the hackerspace, but really, he didn’t feel like the looks that some store clerks give him when they can tell just how high he is.

He debates ignoring it, which would be easy once he’s actually asleep. If he’s being honest with himself, though, the thought of something savory is tempting. With grease, preferably.

Reluctantly, he opens his eyes. He must not have been dozing off for long, because Horatio is still there, typing away. Though now he’s got an extra laptop beside him.

“I’m heading out, you want anything?”

“I thought you were sleep,” Horatio makes air quotes around the word ‘sleep.’ “And no, I’m good.”

Marcus is ready to take his word for it, is almost to the stairs when he stops himself. In a second his mind runs through a slew of thoughts which all come down to: _Horatio works really hard-too hard, even, I should get him to call it a night,_ and _Sitara would thank me for getting him to take a break_.

“You sure?” The eye roll he gets in response only makes him more persistent. “Come with me, you need to take a break.”

“I did, you just weren’t here to see it. I have work to do, unlike some people,” Horatio chuckles.

“Real peachy. Work that can be done tomorrow. I can think of plenty of funner things to do at this time of night.” Marcus is pleased that Horatio is looking at him so he can deliver a successfully suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

“Tempting, but I’ll pass.”

Marcus stands by the stairs, eyebrows raised, for about a minute until he gives up. Taking the stairs two at a time, he tries to think of the nearest spot around that would be open this late at night. He considers just stopping by one of the gas stations down the street, but the thought of gas station food almost makes him lose his appetite.

He swipes the keys to the front door on his way out. There’s still people out on the streets despite the sun having set hours ago. The bright lights of cars passing by combined with the street lights and store fronts are more than enough to illuminate the sidewalk. He reaches the edge of the next block, waiting for the light to change, and wishes that the food trucks were open 24/7.

“What place did you have in mind?” Horatio asks from beside him. Marcus will not admit to being scared. He blames the cannabis.

“Someplace close.”

 

They end up in a pizza shop a couple blocks away.

“Is that seriously all you wanted?” Marcus asks, gesturing to Horatio’s container of mozzarella sticks with a slice of his pizza.

“A man can survive off of mozzarella sticks,” he says as if it’s common knowledge. “Don’t worry, if I’m still hungry I’ll just have a slice of yours.”

“If you wanted a slice, you should have ordered a slice,” he laughs. He watches a couple arguing across the street, until one angrily storms off, before he turns to Horatio to ask, “so what is it you were working on anyway?”

“Try to hold back your surprise,” he says with maximum amount of sarcasm, “I’ve been following the tracks of the other hacking groups around, getting a feel for our next in after Swelter Skelter. There’s a lot of chatter going on about Nudle.”

“How many?”

“Enough that I’m looking into it now. Of everything I’ve seen, this makes the most sense to me.”

Marcus nods, “yeah, with all that tech Nudle’s cookin’ up in there, and everything they already operate-”

“I think their paranoia is warranted,” Horatio agrees. He gets up to throw away his now-empty container, stealing a slice of Marcus’ pizza in the process.

“That’s why you’re out fifty bucks.” It’s not his best comeback, but it’ll do. Horatio just shrugs. _Smug bastard_ , Marcus thinks. Working at Nudle, fifty bucks must be pocket change. He folds in the pizza box with the last couple slices and they walk out the door.

“Sitara’s been working her ass off to use our victory back in the desert in order to bring our image back up across platforms,” Horatio continues.

“My idea, by the way.” He gets a shove off the curve for that.

“Uh-huh. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Honestly, it’s not much,” he adds, rolling his eyes. “So it’s slow going. But, I think if there really is something with this Nudle plug, and Dedsec gets in there-"

“We’ll be right where we left off-”

“Exactly,” Horatio finishes, returning the smile that Marcus has on his face. They turn the corner just a walk away from Gary’s. “Of course, I still need you to help Sitara get those numbers up.” He gives Marcus another shove, though this time it doesn’t almost send him into oncoming traffic.

“Yeah, yeah, consider it done. Even though you owe me a slice of pizza.”

“You have an _entire_ box and I took _one_ slice,” Horatio points out as Marcus opens the door and they walk towards the hackerspace.

“I’m open to other forms of payment.” Marcus leaves the box on the table and reclaims his spot on the couch. He sees Horatio about to sit back down in front of his computers before he interjects, “why don’t you leave the Nudle snooping to us? We’ll let you know what we find tomorrow.” He knows that Horatio doesn’t hesitate because of any lack of trust, but because the guy would work himself into the ground if they let him.

Marcus almost considers getting up when he sees the other man nod, “Alright, I’ll call it a night then,” and begin shutting down the machines.

“See you in the morning,” he hears Horatio say before there are footsteps climbing the stairs. Marcus pats himself on the back for another job well done. Sitara would be proud.


End file.
